Bit of a question regarding peopleís personal experience of private health insurance and how it has benefitted then when injured and unable to compete at sport. Iíve had an ongoing knee problem now for two months (granted not the longest injury anyone has ever had) but I keep feeling that the NHS is pretty much a dead loss with regards to getting treatments. Wait lists are long and itís just referral and wait for the next person to come look at at which point the doctors seem very pressed for time, want to get you moved on as quickly as possible and as such donít feel like Iím being given the time to really assess what the problem is. I understand why these issues exist but ultimately what Iím interested in getting better.

Does anyone have experience of care from private health care and insurance. Has it helped you or been no different. Did you get an appointment print or a quick referral for a scan or did you ultimately end up no better than if you were with the NHS?

If it makes any difference it is BUPA I was thinking of going with as the premium is about £40 a month for me and my wife as have a Work discount scheme.

I use bupa all the time. I get it as an included benefit at work (obviously pay the tax cost of the BIK). They're pretty decent at getting slots with physios for musculoskeletal issues...you just book a telephone consultation with one of their own physios and so long as you know what to say, you'll get a referral to an actual physio. Once with them, they can keep requesting more sessions if they know how to play the game.

Very useful for niggles. Last year I tweaked my calf 10 days before Rotterdam. Had an appointment with my local physio through bupa within a couple of days, and through that was able to get diagnosis (not severe), treatment (about 4 sessions in the ten days), and a rehab plan to get me on the start line. Didn't set the world alight on the run, but at least I was able to race pretty well.

One op on private cover failed twice, third time on NHS was a success....the same consultant each time!

More recently I've had both knees operated on through NHS and pushed the system to gave them done swiftly. Found a great knee specialist at Oswestry
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going private is undoubtedly the thing to do if you can afford to do so. the treatment you get isn't necessarily going to be much better as you'll be seeing the same specialists (in the main) that also work in the NHS but the big difference is speed of action - you don't have the long waiting times of the NHS and for some injuries/illnesses, the quicker they act, the better the outcome.

sadly, I'm now at an age where the premiums for private cover have become prohibitive so have dropped back to the NHS. I'm being managed currently for atrial fibrillation and have a cardioversion procedure tomorrow and so far the NHS service and staff have been superb (if frustratingly slow at times) - just hope it continues. I did pay to see a consultant early on after diagnosis to get an assessment of my condition, but he assured me that time wasn't of the essence so I was happy to drop back into the NHS system and bide my time.

if time had been critical, I'm sure the NHS would have sped up for me (as they do for many acute life threatening conditions) or I would have sucked my breath in and paid.
_________________And the lord said unto John; "come forth and receive eternal life." But John came fifth and won a toaster.

I'm with Vitality/Spire health and have to say that 2 knee ops and a double inguinal hernia were carried out within a week of the diagnosis. The post op is as important as I had a sports physio allocated and worked on my recovery.

It is pricey I pay 80 quid a month for a family of 4 but if I need anything then it will be supplied as soon as possible.

if time had been critical, I'm sure the NHS would have sped up for me (as they do for many acute life threatening conditions) or I would have sucked my breath in and paid.

I think that's the key thing. The NHS (when subject to constraints) is there to provide critical cover. Elective surgeries are always going to be subject to delays if something critical comes in. Our private/public mix is such that almost zero care is provided by the private sector, so scheduled procedures with them are almost never going to be bumped for an emergency.

I'm certainly not knocking the NHS for the quality of care though. I had acl reconstruction in October 2005 (7m wait which I have no cause to complain about) and have had no issues whatsoever. But things like physio are just considered a luxury item, and physio resources will inevitably be allocated to those who have debilitating issues, rather than those wanting to get back into sports.

Thanks for the replied guys. I think based on these replies I think I might take out some health care plans.

A bit of a side note is how have people found the Drs ability to investigate issues when private differ. I think my biggest issue has been to the two times I have seen the two consultant is they spent minimal time examining me and virtually instantly went "your a runner with knee pain, that's ITB syndrome' or 'you've strained you calf' where as at least when I saw a private physio because you were paying for a time slot they spent the entire slot assessing you.

Do 'private' time slots tend to be more thorough with doctors or just more of the same?

Thanks for the replied guys. I think based on these replies I think I might take out some health care plans.

A bit of a side note is how have people found the Drs ability to investigate issues when private differ. I think my biggest issue has been to the two times I have seen the two consultant is they spent minimal time examining me and virtually instantly went "your a runner with knee pain, that's ITB syndrome' or 'you've strained you calf' where as at least when I saw a private physio because you were paying for a time slot they spent the entire slot assessing you.
Do 'private' time slots tend to be more thorough with doctors or just more of the same?

they tend to spend more time - but not a huge amount more - with you as you're the one paying. if you want more extra time with them, ask their secretary as their may be an additional charge for that
_________________And the lord said unto John; "come forth and receive eternal life." But John came fifth and won a toaster.

Currently working with sports medicine specialist doctors in South Africa. Granted they're rspected as being some of the best in the world, and have to admit the standard of care is phenomenal. Made me think twice about my love for the NHS, but then they put on a clinic in the public hospitals and saw patients with completely shattered joints (barely walking, nevermind elite sport), and they can't afford the operations.

As for the UK I agree with above that standard of care is generlaly no different as similar people in both systems, but dealing with healthy people who just want to push their limits will always be seen as a luxury which there isnt time for in the NHS.

Maybe stating the obvious, but when you take out a new health insurance policy you usually have to state any pre-existing conditions or conditions you've had treatment for in the previous couple of years. If you've had recurring problems then you might find that the new policy won't cover you for treatment on that condition.
_________________Starting again....

Yeah, I know. Locked out of my account, which is registered to a work e-mail account and the reset e-mails don't make it through the spam filter...

There's no reason why you cannot reregister with the same email address, and just recreate the account.

BTW, the account was deleted because in common with so many spammers I clear out, it was registered and seven days later still hadn't posted anything.

If people register and don't use the account, I delete them as the 25,000 accounts clogging everything up and the cast majority have never been used as they were registered by bots.
_________________Arguing with engineers is like wrestling in mud with a pig - after a while you realise they like it
newMan : I don't know why you think you can address me like that! Don't ever reply directly to any of my posts again please.